Mamie
No I don't think it is meaningless lemongrove. Yes I will always be British in France, but France is my home. I feel a part of the continuum of the history and culture of Europe, so in that sense I am absolutely European.
Yes, I can understand that when somebody lives in France as you do, particularly for a long time, although you are British, may feel, if not French, then less British and more of a mixture of the two, so European may cover it.
What I don’t believe though, is that those who live in Britain and are British by birth and upbringing see themselves as European first, British second, and English or Scottish etc last!
I think that those who say it, don’t mean it but believe it to be a more sophisticated outlook.It’s only a short step away from announcing grandly that they are a ‘citizen of the world’.